The world watches

I've spent the last week in China and am becoming convinced its recent history is so impressive it warrants a complete rewrite of development theory.

Apparently, from 1981-2001, 400 million people have been lifted from abject poverty in China. That means that 80% of the world's progress in tackling poverty has, without question, been due to international trade encouraged as a result of economic reform.

International development agencies have essentially played no role in this at all.